Pulse of The People: Watch the representatives closely

My fellow veterans and I are proud that our country was able to count on us. Now we're counting on the benefits we earned through our service.

I know first-hand these benefits don't add up to a lavish lifestyle. We're already living on a tight budget.

That's why I find it deeply troubling that some in Washington are considering a plan to cut veterans' benefits. The proposal sounds innocent enough. It is called a "chained CPI" and is described by supporters as a more accurate means than the current inflation index for calculating cost-of-living adjustments.

The chained CPI assumes that when the cost of something you typically buy rises, you just switch to another product. But, as so many veterans and seniors understand, this assumption is deeply flawed. Many veterans and seniors spend much of their money on basic goods such as health care and utilities that don't have lower cost substitutes. Many of us who qualify for VA health coverage are paying an increasing amount out-of-pocket for rising health care costs.

Advertisement

For many veterans and people with disabilities, a chained CPI means we won't be able to keep up with inflation. In other words, this proposal is not only illogical but also unfair.

The chained CPI would cut benefits more each year, so that over our lifetimes, veterans, seniors, and our nation's most vulnerable citizens would lose thousands of dollars.

Take the example of a 30-year-old veteran with severe disabilities. According to the Congressional Budget Office, this individual's VA benefits would fall by more than $1,400 a year at age 45, by more than $2,300 at age 55, and more than $3,200 at 65.

Across the country, 23 million veterans would lose $17 billion in compensation and pension benefits over 10 years according to data from Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense. Here in New York, 951,000 veterans would lose $322 million.

For millions of veterans, Social Security represents the cornerstone of financial well-being in our later years. The "longevity penalty" that is central to a chained CPI would hit Social Security recipients hard. Under this proposal, a 92-year-old retiree would suffer a cut of one month's worth of benefits each year. That's a far cry from the compassionate action of a grateful nation.

When you consider the misguided assumptions behind a chained CPI and the considerable harm it would inflict, it is no wonder that the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and virtually all other veterans' organizations oppose this plan.

We all appreciate the compliments public officials send our way. But we veterans know that both on the battlefield and in the political field, what matters most is not what people say but what they do. You can bet veterans will be watching closely to see if our representatives cut our benefits through a chained CPI.